


Your Friends and Neighbors

by mcgarrygirl78



Series: Meant to Be [16]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Alternate Universe, Drama, F/M, Family, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-07
Updated: 2014-10-07
Packaged: 2018-02-20 05:18:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2416352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Someone went into that house because they had lust and hate in their hearts and they took it out on those women.  I don’t want those people walking the street with my family or yours.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Your Friends and Neighbors

**Author's Note:**

> This story takes place in my New England universe and every character in this story has appeared in an episode of Criminal Minds. Maybe you can even pick out which ones. This is the sequel to [What Happens at Home](http://lairofthemuses.livejournal.com/90277.html#cutid1) and that should probably be read first or you'll have no idea what’s happening here.

Mark held the door and his umbrella up for Jessie so she wouldn’t get wet. She walked into the Newberry Police Station and he was right beside her.

“Thank you.” she spoke quietly, still mad at herself for being so unnerved around him.

“Something smells good.” He said. He was wearing that smile he always wore. A lot of single women in Newberry knew that smile well.

“Its chicken…dinner for the Chief.”

“How come you never bring us dinner?” he asked.

“I'm sure with all the women in your life, Mark, you can find one of them to cook for you.”

“Mark doesn’t date women who can cook.” Officer Ronnie Bale replied, laughing.

“Shut up, Ronnie.” Mark said. “I just don’t think its fair we gotta smell those good eats and we don’t get any.”

Jessie kept her mouth shut. She found herself wanting to tell him that he used to get plenty but didn’t know what to do with it. She must have channeled her best friend but enough of her was still there to keep her mouth shut.

“Go to the diner.” She told him. “It’s like a home-cooked meal every evening.”

“You'll make me something special?” he was still grinning.

“You clearly don’t know how to stop while you’re ahead, Mark.” Jessie sighed and looked at the Deputy Chief, who was checking the walkie-talkie batteries. “Can I come in, Katie?”

“You know you never have to ask. He’s boarded up in his office; just like the past few nights.”

“I brought him dinner…the man will starve himself when he’s in full cop mode.”

“Will LaMontagne’s in there too.” Katie replied. “Hope there’s enough for two.”

“I think they’ll manage.” Jessie smiled. “Thanks.”

She looked over her shoulder at Mark, who was talking with a couple of firefighters who came in behind her before walking back to her husband’s door. She knocked and heard a gruff response to come in. She stuck her head in and put on a smile.

“Hey, am I disturbing anything?”

Sam looked up from his paperwork, unable to help the big pumpkin grin on his face. No, he wasn’t happy right now but he was happy to see Jessie. He would never be able to hide that.

“Hey baby.” He stood, as he always did when his wife walked into a room. “Come on in.”

“Thanks. Hey Will.”

“Hey Jess. Mmm, something smells good.”

“I brought dinner. I didn’t know you were here but I'm sure there’s enough for you to share.”

For the next minute or so it was like Will wasn’t even in the room. Once Sam put his arms around his wife, which he hadn't since he left home at around eight that morning, they were all alone in the world. He kissed her, softly at first, tenderly. Then Jessie deepened the kiss and Sam followed. They didn’t get too passionate. Something made her remember someone else was in the room. But nothing was going to stop her from giving her husband the proper hello.

“You two make me sick you know.” Will said with a grin on his face. “I need shots of insulin from all the sweetness.”

“Don’t hate the player, Will, hate the game.” Sam replied.

“I love when you attempt to be cool.”

“Haha.” Sam gave him the evil eye.

Will stood from the couch, smoothing out his dress slacks.

“I’ll give you a supper break…we might be going late tonight.”

“Where are you off to?” Sam asked.

“I didn’t mean to chase you out Will.” Jessie said. “I can just drop this off and let you get back to work.”

Will saw from the way Sam snaked his arm around her waist when she said it that that wasn’t going to be an option. Hell, they were still newlyweds; they deserved a little alone time even if they had to have it in his office. Will would just go home for a while. He would have some dinner, give his son a bath, and maybe get a little from his wife.

He might be able to do that in 90 minutes. He would eat quickly. This case was still taking up so much of their time but both Will and Sam wanted it done right. The whole town of Newberry wanted justice. They were looking to the detective and the chief to exact it.

“No, I'm tired of looking at his mug anyways. I’ll be back in about 90 minutes…is that good?”

“Yeah.” Sam nodded. “Give my love to Jennifer.”

“Me too.” Jessie said.

“I will. Bye Jess.”

“Bye.” She held her hand up to wave as Will walked out and closed the door. Then she sighed as Sam held her in his arms.

“I am so glad you're here.” He whispered.

“No doubt you're hungry. I don’t even want to think about whether you had lunch or not.”

“Bill bought Arby’s for everyone…he lost a bet. I need another hug.”

“Oh Sam.” Jessie held onto him.

She didn’t want to tell him he was working too hard even as she wondered just how much this case was taking out of him. She knew he wasn’t sleeping well at night and was also having nightmares. She knew there were still other cases that needed to be worked on. He wasn’t eating properly, didn’t exercise daily anymore, and even forgot about buying her flowers last Tuesday. Jessie didn’t hold any of it against him but she knew Sam needed to pull back some.

The problem was that he wasn’t going to be able to. Everyone wanted to know what happened to the Hill family and the man they all thought they knew. Sam wouldn’t stop until he had answers for his town and himself. So Jessie just needed to make sure she took care of him as best she could before he burnt himself out. He sighed as she ran her fingers through his dark hair.

“C'mon, let’s get some food in you. It’ll be a late night and you need your strength.”

“I love you so much.” Sam caressed her face, kissing her nose and then her mouth.

Jessie smiled some, taking his hand and leading him over to the couch where Will had been sitting when she came in. Closing her eyes, she closed up the folders with crime scene photos in them and placed them on the other side of the table. She pulled out two platters of chicken, one barbecued and one baked, with mashed potatoes and broccoli. Sam smiled when she also pulled out two bottles of peach iced tea.

“I sometimes lie in bed at night and wonder what I ever did to deserve you.” he said.

“Its just chicken, honey.” Jessie replied.

“Its more than that and you know it. I know some things have been slipping lately…”

“Sam…”

“Uh uh.” He put a gentle finger on her lips. “I need to say this. I'm sure it will take me a long time, longer than you, to forgive myself for forgetting family night. But I'm gonna solve this case and I'm gonna make sure that the town we live in and will raise our family in will be safe.”

“I know, Sam. Eat your dinner before it gets cold.”

He nodded, taking the knife and fork she offered him. They didn’t talk much while eating; they didn’t need to. Sam was actually happy for the quiet, even if his head was buzzing. He could just enjoy his chicken and having his wife close. He didn’t know how late he and Will were going to work tonight but they were starting to make some serious leeway with this case.

By the time it was over, a Pandora’s Box might be opened and they wouldn’t be able to close it again. Sam didn’t care. He only cared about justice for the Hill family. That was his job and he wouldn’t rest until it was done.

“Are you allowed to talk about the case with me?” Jessie asked, breaking the comfortable silence.

“Probably not, but I trust you. It’s hard sometimes, knowing you have to keep everything inside. I know I can't do that…I'm not that kind of man. I also know that you won't run straight to the diner with anything that I tell you. Other people can't be so sure about their spouses.”

“You know this town Sam; it’s not just the spouses. When Britt Hallum was chief he was the one telling everyone’s business. He didn’t need his wife running her mouth in the beauty salon. I don’t want you keeping everything inside; it’s not good for you or us. But if there are things you absolutely cannot tell me, I don’t want you risking your job either.”

“Norman’s gonna plead guilty next week to the cases in Manchester. They’ve got him dead to rights and he confessed. I think his lawyer is going to try to get him a mental institution instead of prison.” Sam said. “He's clearly not in his right mind. He’s at Highland now in Manchester and I'm sure they’ll want to keep him there. The defense will want to keep him there anyway.”

“Has he said anything about his family?” Jessie asked.

“He confessed to the Road Warrior stuff as soon as Charlie and Mark brought him in. But he insists he didn’t kill his family. Why confess to one and not the other? He was covered in their blood but a thorough examination of his body done here with his lawyer present showed no wounds that would be consistent with a stabbing. We still haven’t found either of the murder weapons and we canvassed the entire area he drove. He was only a few blocks from home when he was pulled over…he didn’t have time to do anything with them.”

“You think he might be innocent, don’t you?”

“I don’t think, I know it.” Sam replied.

“Oh my God, that means someone else…”

“Yeah.” he nodded.

“Was it a stranger, Sam? Did someone ride through and pick their house?”

“Those are the rumors circulating but the answer is no. We’re not looking at a Boogeyman, Jess, and that’s all I can tell you. I can't compromise the investigation.”

“Of course not.” She took his hand and kissed it. “I would never ask you to do that. Are you going to catch him?”

“I pray we do. We have some blood and DNA evidence; we just need to find a match.”

“I can't believe that anyone in this town could do something so horrible.”

“I find that the longer I work this job the more I see what man can truly be capable of.” Sam sighed and leaned his head on his wife’s shoulder. He sighed when she rubbed the nape of his neck. “I could stand to hear some good news.”

“I bought you pie.” Jessie replied.

Sam sat up and looked at her. He wore a weary smile.

“Aww baby, you are so good to me.” he leaned to kiss her, resting his forehead on hers. “Just tell me its Oreo Cookie pie.”

“Did you doubt it?” she asked.

Sam smiled and pulled her into a hug. He wanted to go home. He wanted to go home, take a hot shower, make passionate love to his wife and sleep for about twelve hours. He wanted to wake up, make love to his wife again, and go jogging. Then he would come home and make love to his wife one more time, shower, and take another nap. It might be months before Sam got to do something like that.

He and Will wanted to strike while the iron was hot. They were talking to people, hearing things, following leads, and felt like they were on the way to breaking this case wide open. All they had time for was dinner breaks and quickies. Sam was not a quickie man…he always took his time with Jessie. If that meant that he had to wait and get it right then he was waiting.

When he let her go, Jessie pulled the pie from the bag. Sam leaned back on the couch, closed his eyes, and ate slow. While he was doing that, Jessie cleaned up the remnants of dinner. He hadn't eaten as much as she liked but he ate more than half. That was going to have to do.

She would take care of him the best way she knew how. He would get home late tonight but she would hold him while he tried to sleep. She would make sure he took a hot shower in the morning and got at least 20 minutes or so on the treadmill. Sam wasn’t able to do the usual activities that kept him from going crazy like his Lego stuff, puzzles, and he hadn't even been able to bowl for the past 2 weeks. But Jessie would make sure he got some rest, even if it was just a few minutes to escape.

“I'm taking Sunday off.” Sam said.

“Well, that’s a good thing.”

“I don’t like it but I'm gonna skip church and sleep in. Will said he can handle it for a day. I'm giving him Monday.”

“I'm just glad you guys are working together…you make good partners.”

“Yeah, we do. And we’re gonna get it solved too. No one is going to commit a murder in my town and get away with it.”

“You're my hero, Sam Kassmeyer.” Jessie leaned back on the couch too, resting against him. She sighed when Sam held her close. It felt so good to just be quiet and hold each other. Soon their hour would be up and he’d be working again. She would go home, write more, and probably fall asleep alone.

“I love being your hero.”

Lizzie knocked on the door and stuck her head in.

“Sorry to interrupt, Chief, but we got a call of a stabbing on North Canal. Bill and I are heading out.”

“Be safe, Evans.”

“You got it.”

Lizzie left and Jessie sighed. She needed to get home. She didn’t like hanging around the police station much; it could be depressing. She knew it hadn't quite been an hour but if she stayed much longer then she would want to take her husband with her…or take all of his clothes off.

“I'm going to get out of here.” She said. “You need to get back to work.”

“Yeah.” Sam put the empty pie plate in the trash beside his couch. He stood, holding out his hand for his wife. He held Jessie tight to him and didn’t want to let go. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Sam.” Jessie held his face, kissing him. She didn’t want to leave either but knew she had to.

“I don’t know what time I’ll be home tonight. Don’t wait up, OK?”

“I’ll think about it. I’ll see you later.”

Sam held up his hand to wave as Jessie opened the door and walked out of the office. He followed her, calling her name.

“I’ll walk you to the car. I'm sorry, baby, I'm just so distracted.”

He came out from behind the gate and took the umbrella Mark handed him. His wife shouldn’t have to walk out alone. Jessie slipped her arm in his as he pushed open the door and held up the umbrella. It was a warm, rainy night; just perfect for some cuddling in their new sun room. They would have time for that when all of Sam’s hard work was done.

“Be safe driving home.” He opened the driver’s side door of her Ford Fusion.

“I will. Call or send a text when you get a moment to breathe.”

“I promise.” He kissed her. “I love you, Jess.”

“Love you too.” she put the bag with the dinner stuff on the passenger seat and climbed into the car.

Sam closed the door and stepped back as she pulled out of the lot and down the street. He watched until her red rear lights turned left. He stood out in the rain for a few more minutes taking deep breaths. Will’s Jeep Cherokee was coming down the street and Sam knew time was up…they needed to get back to work. He would wait for his friend so Will wouldn’t get wet walking from the lot into the station. When Sam’s work cell rang, he grabbed it off his hip.

“Chief Kassmeyer.”

“Chief, its Bill and you're not going to believe this.”

“What's up, Bill?”

“We just responded to a stabbing over on North Canal…its Sam David sir. He’s hurt really bad and he said Steven Fitzgerald did it. He also said Steven killed the Hills.”

“What?” Sam took the phone away from his mouth. “Will, get over here!”

The Cajun came running from his SUV and dashed under Sam’s umbrella. Sam put the phone on speaker.

“Keep going Bill.”

“Steven Fitzgerald is on the run. I called it in and we should have cars out looking for him in a matter of minutes.”

As if on cue, four cops came running out of the station and heading for their cars. Sam yelled for them all to be safe.

“Is Sam gonna make it?”

Sam David was a good kid. He was a bit of a troublemaker sometimes; he was only in 11th grade. But he got good grades and had a lot of friends. His family was one of the few mixed race families in Newberry, a white mother and Arab-American father. But Dr. David and his wife had three good kids. To suddenly have one of them stabbed by a known troublemaker seemed out of the ordinary.

“We don’t know sir.” Bill replied. “He was bad off and they’re rushing him to St. Michael’s.”

“How would he know what Fitzgerald was up to?” Will asked. “I know this is a small town but there’s got to be 7 years between them, and they don’t really run in the same circles. I can't even imagine Sam hanging out on North Canal.”

“I bet his parents can't either.” Sam said. “Bill, you and Lizzie comb that scene like it’s never been combed before. Will and I are heading to the David house…we want some answers.”

“You got it, sir.”

“Keep us in the loop.”

“Absolutely.”

Sam put his phone back on his hip. He and Will walked quickly back to the Jeep, climbing in.

“Bill said Sam told them that Steven killed the Hills.” Sam said.

“You think there’s any validity to his statement?”

“We know that three people, maybe even four, were in that house that night. We know both of those little girls were sexually assaulted. Something really bad happened in that house and the guy from Quantico profiled that the assailants would be in their late teens or early 20s. Maybe Sam David knew something that he shouldn’t and someone was tying up loose ends.”

“Maybe Sam David is one of the killers. None of those fingerprints or DNA was in the system.” Will countered.

“There's only one way to find out. This is not going to be fun.”

Both men were quiet as Will drove over to Emerson Road. It was just three blocks from where the Hills lived in the upper middle class part of town. Sam and Britney went to school together, had mutual friends; rolled in the same social circles. Steven Fitzgerald lived across the street from Sam…there couldn’t be more miles between the victim and the alleged killer. Oh my God, Steven lived across the street from Sam.

“Sam, what's the matter?” Will glanced at him as he stopped at a stop sign. “You're as white as a sheet.”

“That kid lives across the street from me.” Sam said. “My wife is home alone right now.”

“It’s been a month since the Hill murders. You know it wasn’t a serial type thing; this was personal. Jessie is locked up tight in the house but we’ll go and check on her as soon as we’re done with the Davids. I need you to focus.”

Sam nodded, slipping his hand into his pocket to grip the cross Jessie gave him to keep him safe. She was fine; he’d just seen her. And Will was right about her being locked up tight. He would do his job at the Davids and then check in at home.

***

A few hours later, Steven Fitzgerald was in custody. They'd gotten information that he was holed up in a known drug house in Manchester. MPD and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Department raided the place and apprehended him after he gave chase. Steven was on his way back to Newberry now. Ray Donovan and Sydney Manning were also under arrest.

It was their house on North Canal Street where Sam David was stabbed. The teenager was in critical but stable condition and able to give a statement about what happened that evening. Both Sam and Will could tell he was leaving out key pieces of information. They took a DNA sample before leaving him under the watchful eye of his mother and sister to rest. On the way back to the police station, Sam texted Jessie ‘ _All hell has broken loose. I don’t know when I’ll be home. Please lock all the doors and I will be there as soon as I can. I love you_ ’.

“You think he’ll give us anything?” Will asked as they stood outside of the interrogation room where Ray Donovan sat.

“All we can do is ask.” Sam replied. “Ray thinks he's a badass and I truly believe that he murdered his father so he may be capable of this crime.”

Everyone in town believed that Ray killed his father, but the coroner said it was respiratory failure. He admitted that a pillow over the face could’ve produced the same result since Bob Donovan suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He had treated his whole family like shit; treated everyone that way. He beat Ray all the time and there were rumors that he sexually abused him as well.

Sam had no use for rumors but he knew something was very wrong with the young man. Ray’s older brother joined the navy six years ago and no one had seen him since. Ray hung out with the deviants, like Steven and Tobias Hankel, living a life of petty crimes and drugs. Once he met his girlfriend, Sydney Manning, at a Manchester AA meeting…it was double the trouble.

“He's in the system though.” Will said. “We would’ve gotten a hit on his prints if he’d been in the house. Steven Fitzgerald’s too.”

“They're criminals, even if it’s petty stuff. I'm figuring they wore gloves. But I'm sure they left blood or DNA; that can't be covered up. If we want anything from Ray we have to squeeze Sydney.”

“Or make him think we are. Charlie and Mark are in there with her now. She’s probably tougher than Ray is…he's the weak link.”

Sam nodded, taking a deep breath and going into the room with Will. He’d been on the other side of the table from Ray before. He wasn’t leaving until he got something.

***

“I want a lawyer!” Steven Fitzgerald exclaimed over their questions. “I'm not saying shit. Fuck you.”

“You don’t have to, smartass.” Will replied. “Your friends have already rolled on you enough. I'm talking 25 to life enough.”

“They're liars…drug addicts and liars. Good luck getting them on the stand or having anyone believe them. You already know Ray killed his dad; he's capable of anything.”

“At least one of them isn’t a drug addict.” Sam said, unable to help the anger rising up in him. “At least one of them is a good kid from a good family. His life may be all over because of you.”

“Who the hell do I look like, the pied piper? Man, people do what they wanna do. He’s the one who wanted that little girl so bad…fuckin pederast.”

“Really?” Will asked. “Do tell.”

“I’d like to call my attorney please.” Steven leaned back in the chair, throwing his handcuffed hands behind his head as if he had no care in the world. “I'm sure you guys wouldn’t want to be sued for violating my Miranda rights. Especially you, Chief Kassmeyer…what would the church folk say?”

Will had to drag Sam out of the room; he thought he was gonna whale on the kid. Steven surely deserved it but Will wasn’t going to let him turn his friend into a monster.

“Ronnie,” Will said. “Get Fitzgerald a phone. He lawyered up.”

“No problem.” Bale nodded.

Other cops were already moving Ray and Sydney, who were confessing their undying love to one another quite loudly, back to the holding cells in preparation for their move to County lockup in the morning. Sam went into his office, Will behind him, and closed the door.

“We need to bring in Roderick Gless for questioning.” Sam said.

“You believe Ray?” Will asked.

“I don’t know what I believe but his name was mentioned too many times. He’s no angel, that’s for sure.”

“His father is a big time lawyer…we’re not getting through the door.”

“We can catch him off guard. Just say that some of Britney’s friends are saying they dated.” He sighed. “I cannot believe this is happening in our town. I feel like I've been thrust into an episode of _Dateline_. It makes me sick.”

“Its surely making my stomach turn.” Will replied. “Do you think Sam David…”

“I don’t want to but he and Roderick are friends. I know how awful peer pressure can be. I hate to think of Sam going to prison for the rest of his life because he was too weak to say no. We’ve got a lot of stories to work through and the only DNA we have right now is Sam’s. I'm willing to bet that’s all we’ll get until we have probable cause for anything else. Ray was quick to flip Roderick and Steven but didn’t place himself anywhere near the crime scene.”

“And what did Steven mean by pederast? You think Sasha may have been the intended target?”

“Don’t say that.” Sam shook his head. “I know we’ll eventually have to think about it but not tonight. What was she, 12 Will?”

“Thirteen.” He solemnly replied.

Someone knocked on the door and Sam told them to come in. Bill Hightower walked into the room with a big, plastic evidence bag.

“Chief, we hit pay dirt in a ceiling tile in the master closet.”

“Is that what I think it is?” Will asked.

“It’s an aluminum baseball bat with blood and hair still on it. We found it in a gym bag which also held 2 pairs of bloody clothes and two pairs of bloody sneakers. All of this is heading to the lab in Concord. Katie’s going to drive it herself.”

“Thanks Bill.” Sam said.

“You got it, Chief.”

He left, closing the door behind him. Sam and Will looked at each other.

“We know how this is going to play out.” Sam mumbled.

“The right side of the tracks versus the wrong side.” Will replied.

“It’s been the story of this town for centuries. I don’t care about neighborhoods or socioeconomic statuses; all I care about is what happened to Vanessa Hill and her daughters. Will, this wasn’t a robbery. I mean, they took things but not enough to write home about.

“This wasn’t a hit or a murder for hire and it wasn’t a family annihilation. This was lust, pure and simple. Someone went into that house because they had lust and hate in their hearts and they took it out on those women. I don’t want those people walking the street with my family or yours.”

“We better see if we can make any leeway at the Gless residence.” Will said. “Sam David may have already given Roderick the heads up.”

Sam nodded, grabbing the keys to his cruiser. The night was about to get longer and there was nothing he could do about it. But perhaps by the end of it he might have a better idea what happened to the Hill family and just who was involved.

***

It was nearly 2am when Sam got home. He went straight to the kitchen to make a cup of tea. Instead of using the kettle, which may have woken Jessie, Sam boiled water in one of the pots. Roderick Gless went just as they assumed it would...his father wouldn’t let him say a word. They weren't permitted to search his room or car. They sure as hell weren't getting any of his DNA.

Patrick Gless insisted if they had anything then they would be there with an arrest warrant. His family had been through this before and no one was going to drag his son’s name through the mud again. His wife Leona, a permanently bitter woman, was verbally abusive to the police and had to be escorted out of the room. Roderick just stood there trying to wear an innocent face, which came across as a triumphant smirk.

Last spring he’d been arrested for suspicion of sexual assault at a birthday party. In the end, the 14 year old victim refused to press charges. She’d been through enough, was about to start high school, and didn’t want to be labeled. Sam couldn’t, and wouldn’t, force her into something she couldn’t handle. Roderick Gless was bad news, and possibly had a penchant for post-pubescent girls. Mixed with sociopaths like Steven Fitzgerald and Ray Donovan, their chemicals may have combined for a massive explosion. The explosion left three dead in its wake.

Jessie came downstairs and looked at her husband. He sat at the table with his eyes closed and a half-empty cup of tea in front of him. She moved behind him, her hands massaging his shoulders. Sam jumped some before relaxing under her touch. He sighed when she bent to kiss the top of his head.

“All hell broke loose?” she asked gently.

“Baby, that’s putting it mildly.”

“Sarah called and said Charlie told her that Sam David was stabbed at a party. Is he alright?”

“He’s in critical condition.” Sam replied. “The doctors say he’ll survive but he’s weak from the loss of blood.”

“Who would do something like that? Sam is a good kid.”

“Sam wasn’t stabbed at a party, Jessie. We don’t know what happened but three people are under arrest and there is much more investigating to do. This traces back to the Hill case…Sam is in over his head and it almost cost him his life.”

“He couldn’t have done that. I can't believe that.” she said.

“I hardly know what to believe anymore. The stories we’re getting from all sides are twisted and convoluted. There’s a lot of finger pointing going on and a lot of subterfuge. Sam is holding back with us and it could be because he’s scared.

“It could also be because he doesn’t want to incriminate himself. Luckily he’s only 17. His father said as soon as he’s recovered enough, his ass is ours. Kahlil wants to get to the bottom of this as much as we do.”

“I can hardly believe this is happening. One day everything is normal and then something unthinkable happens. It rips the mask off; nothing can hide from the ugliness. We’re going to be permanently changed when it all comes out.”

“Will and I just need to make sure we have a rock solid case against the right people. I don’t want the usual suspects ending up with three life sentences while their country club counterparts continue to sip cocktails and play tennis.”

“In this town it'll be hard to get a jury to see a kid like Sam David, if he had anything to do with this, as a rapist and murderer.”

“Did you say rapist?” Sam looked up at her.

“I don’t know if it’s true, I pray its not, but Sarah Morgan told me that kids in school were talking. They’re saying Britney and Sasha were raped.”

Sam couldn’t say anything…he wasn’t compromising his investigation behind rumor and innuendo. He wondered how people found these things out. Was there a leak on his force? If he ever found that out, that person would be fired so fast their head would spin. Maybe people just said things because they sounded more fantastic and it would seem like they knew something. Or maybe the murderer let that little piece of information slip. Sam had a feeling he was going to get more on the murder of the Hill family out of Newberry High School than he would from North Canal Street or across the street at the Fitzgerald home.

“You need to come to bed, Chief Kassmeyer.”

Sam took Jessie’s hand, bringing her around and sitting her down on his lap. She put on a smile and ran her fingers through his hair. When he kissed her, Sam hoped she could taste his hunger for her.

“Tell me what I can do, Sam. Anything you want or need?”

“I need you, sweet thing.” His hands slipped under her tank top to stroke her naked back. “My God, I wish I had the strength to make love to you.”

“Only you can make that sound so incredibly sweet.” She kissed him. “C'mon, we’ll go upstairs; I’ll undress you, and take all of your tension away. You're gonna sleep tonight.”

“How are you…aww, Jess, you don’t have to do that.”

“Don’t seem all horrified as if it’s gonna be a chore for me. I love making you feel good. It’ll make you feel good, won't it?”

“I hope that I'm never so far down a hole that that doesn’t make me feel good.” Sam replied.

Jessie smiled, standing and helping him out of the chair. They walked up the back stairs and down the hall with their arms around each other. Sam shivered when Jessie closed the bedroom door. He took off both of his guns, locking them in the nightstand drawer. His wife never touched his guns; that was her personal choice. Firearm free, he was all hers.

She wrapped her arms around him and gave Sam a long hug. Then she stripped him bare, letting him do the same for her. They climbed between their sheets naked and Jessie kissed him breathless. Her hand moved under the covers to stroke him. Sam moaned as his back arched…it wasn’t going to take him long to get right where he needed to be.

“Mmm, baby, that feels so good. Don’t stop now.”

Jessie had no intention of stopping as she made her way under the covers. She knew what Sam liked and definitely knew how to make him feel good. She knew how to take it slow, make him say her name, and even bring tears to his eyes. That’s what she would do tonight…make him die and go to heaven. He needed to stop thinking about crime scene photos, suspects, and DNA. He didn’t need to focus on the fact that young men he knew, his neighbors, could be cold-blooded murderers.

All that needed to be on his mind right now was her, and ecstasy. It wasn’t going to distract him forever but for now he needed to be far away from all of the outside forces. Sam needed to grip the sheets with one hand and her shoulder with the other. He needed to call her name, over and over. His back needed to come off the mattress and his toes needed to curl.

“Oh God, Jessie! Jessie, Jessie, Jessie…oh baby!”

Sam saw fireworks behind his eyelids as he fell through the blackness. He landed in the soft embrace of the most amazing woman in the world. He was too spent to tell her how much he loved her, but her kiss said it all. Sam deepened the kiss, holding her tight against him, until they were both breathless.

“Thank you baby.”

“I love you.” she whispered, reaching to turn out the lamp.

“I love you too.”

Sam sighed and relaxed in his wife’s arms. How lucky was he to come home every night and she was there? In his nightmares lately, Sam was Norman Hill, coming home and finding his beloved wife stabbed and beaten to death. He often woke in a cold sweat, looking frantically around the dark bedroom, his heart beating wildly. Jessie was always sound asleep beside him; safe. Sam prayed that his dreams would be peaceful tonight. He held on to Jessie and fell asleep with her holding on to him.

***

  



End file.
